Cherry Blossom Geisha
by izixpepperonixpizza
Summary: four orphan girls are adopted by a prestigious geisha okiya, and are trained not only as geisha, but also as ninja. But with Konoha on the brink of war, will their talents remain secrets? first fanfic, go easy on me please. sxs nxh nxt sxi
1. Prologue

Prologue

The sky suddenly grew dark as a grey cloud drifted across the sun. the young girl wrapped the shawl tighter around her body. She looked up at the man again, studying his face. He was quite old, and had many wrinkles. He seemed to be forever frowning, with slim lips, in a straight, grim line. His hand was rough against hers, and he tugged her along the road.

They came to a gate, which he opened and quickly walked to the door, pulling her along. He pressed the bell three times, and started muttering to himself, as if to pass the time. The door opened to reveal a young woman, short black hair, and huge innocent eyes. She was wearing a simple black Yukata, and was holding a chubby pig, who occasionally snorted.

"This is the girl." the man muttered. "What do you think?" he gave her a small push towards the woman, and yanked the shawl from her grasp. The young girl gasped, and hugged herself, as if to get more warmth from the thin, cotton dress she was wearing. The lady looked at the girl. She had exquisite pale pink hair, which was shoulder length, covering her forehead, which seemed to be fairly large, although, fairly cute. But what was most striking about her, was her large emerald eyes.

"She'll do fine! Thank you!" the lady beamed at the girl, before giving the man a large sum of money. The man grunted in response, and walked out of the gate. The lady ushered the girl inside the okiya. She pushed her up the stairs, and started to prepare a bath.

"So, what is you're name?" the lady asked, while tipping oils, and herbs into the bath.

"H- Haruno Sakura." she stuttered.

"I'm Shizune, the assistant of the owner of this Okiya. You'll have to make a good impression on her. She really is difficult when it comes to buying new girls. If she likes you, you'll get to meet the other girls. There about you're age." by now, Sakura was sitting in the warm bath, while Shizune brought out a simple pink Yukata, and laid it on the towel rack. She took a cloth and scrubbed Sakura all over, to get the muck and grime off her small body.

"The Head of this Okiya was a great Geisha! She was one of the most popular in the Konoha district! You'll like her a lot. She's strict, but fair." Shizune kept talking.

"Although when she's got hold of sake, she's completely stressful for me!" she muttered under her breath.

Once Shizune had Sakura dried off, she helped her put on the Yukata. She bustled her downstairs to a room at the far end of the corridor, and opened the sliding doors a little, poking her head through the small gap.

"Tsunade-sama, the girl is here."

"In." an strong, low voice demanded. Shizune opened the door a little more, and gently pushed Sakura inside.

The room was carpeted, with a large mahogany desk at the far side. A lady with long blonde hair and chestnut eyes sat at the desk. Her hair was in two pigtails, with a middle parting. She wore a green Yukata like top, which stretched to accommodate her large chest, and black khaki pants. She was bare footed, and held a dish of sake.

Sakura flinched, and shrank under the strong gaze of the woman, who appeared to be Tsunade. She stared at the lady who scrutinized her critically.

"Well, aren't you going to kneel? Manners are needed in this profession."

Sakura immediately fell to her knees, and bowed for the lady. She stared at the carpet and froze in the position. The lady sighed.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Obedience is good. Come here." she commanded. Sakura stiffly walked to the lady, and stood in front of the desk. Tsunade pulled her around to the other side, and lifted her arms. She squeezed them tightly, and Sakura stifled a gasp.

"Not much muscle." Tsunade muttered. " But that can be remedied. Beautiful figure and face. Forehead……we can work with that I suppose, hair and eyes are good." Tsunade turned towards the door and shouted "All right Shizune, we'll take her! The money is on the table by the front door!"

A laugh sounded from the other side of the door. She had been there all that time?

"Already done Tsunade-sama!" Shizune sang.

"Already? What if I didn't like her? It would have been a waste!" Tsunade retorted. She frowned stubbornly, like a child, Sakura noted.

"My instincts never fail! You know that!" and with that, the sound of Shizune's fading foot steps sounded through the door.

"They might one day." Tsunade muttered childishly. "Anyway! You shall start your training tomorrow. You will join the three other girls in their studies of the geisha arts. You shall learn to entice men, to entertain them. You shall learn the art of the tea ritual, you shall dance, and sing, and play instruments. I do not train weak people, so you had better work hard. Also, what I am to tell you next you are to keep silent about. No word of it outside this Okiya, or to anyone apart from myself, Shizune and the girls. I shall train you to be a ninja. But more about that later. It seems that the girls have come to greet you." As if on cue, there were soft giggles sounding from the other side of the door. Sakura, who was slightly overwhelmed by this point (ok, I lie, extremely overwhelmed), slowly turned towards the door.

Tsunade let out a small laugh and barked "Ok girls you can come in and meet her now." the next second, Sakura was being attacked by three other figures. Tsunade smiled fondly at the girls. The blonde bundle attached to Sakura's left arm grinned at Sakura.

"Hi!! My name's Ino! Wow, I really like your hair!! When we get up to the rooms, I have to give you a make over!" Ino concluded her speech with a giggle.

"Not so fast Pig! She's seeing my weapons collection first! It's way more interesting than your make-up! My name's Tenten by the way! Wait till you see my shruikens! I have loads of the-"

"Hey! How dare you call me pig, you…you…bun head!" Ino huffed out lamely.

"Ha! You can't even come up with decent come backs Miss Piggy! Honestly! If you're going to try and insult me, at least use that tiny piggy brain of yours! Even Tsunade-sensei can come up with a better name when she's hung over!!"

"SHUT-UP!! You're all making to much noise!! Get out of my office!! Out!" Tsunade bellowed. The girls froze, and ran out of the office dragging Sakura out with them.

" I think I'm getting a headache." Tsunade muttered, and downed another dish of Sake.

Once the girls were in a bedroom upstairs, Sakura finally got a good look at them. The blonde girl, Ino, had long silky hair in a ponytail and sky blue eyes. She was wearing a blue Yukata.

The Tenten girl had her brown hair tied up in two buns, and wore a forest green Yukata.

The final girl, who Sakura had not yet been introduced to, had short black hair let down, and pale lavender pupiless eyes. She wore a pale lilac Yukata.

"I-I'm Hinata." she said softly and smiled at Sakura. "You get u-used to their b-bi-bickering after a while." she stuttered, motioning towards the arguing girls.

"It's nice to meet you all" Sakura murmured. Ino, who was now ignoring Tenten, inspected Sakura.

"Hrm, you're very beautiful! Your name is Sakura, right? You might have been as beautiful as me if it wasn't for your large forehead." Ino stated

"Hey! Leave my forehead alone! Ino-Pig!" Sakura squeaked timidly, her face scrunched up into a tight frown. Ino stood there and gaped at Sakura.

"Ha! I like you Sakura! Let's be good friends!" Tenten laughed out, after which, Ino emerged from her surprised stupor.

"Why you forehead girl!" she screeched.


	2. Evening in the tea house part 1

Thank you for the reviews people! I'm glad that the prologue was a success!

I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long to update. I have loads of work for my AS levels and all that shiz. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

and if you think the first paragraph of this chapter sucks then I apologise. I was feeling emotional

Blah- narrative

_Blah_- thoughts

And you know the rest

Chapter 1

Evening in the tea house part 1

The clean soft stroke of the brush left a tingling feeling in it's trail of white make-up upon her neck. The comb glided smoothly through her pastel pink tresses. The silk of the kimono slipped silently onto her shoulders, cold against her skin. The noise of the Katsuya tea house below drifted between the floorboards of her dressing room, laughter and chatting, the clinking of china, the sliding of the doors. She gazed into the mirror one last time to inspect the flawless pale face, before moving towards her door.

O---------------------------------------------O

As she walked down the stairs, the clamour of the tea rooms grew louder. She caught sight on Ino sliding open a door, a tray of sake bottles in one hand, exposing the loud hum to the hallway. The cherry haired girl sighed, and went into the sake room. She picked up a discarded tray from the floor and entered the room. Tonight would be busy, and the noise would most certainly give her a headache during the course of the evening. She squeezed past the crates of sake to the open ones at the back. Stupid Tsunade. Always trying to cover her tracks by taking the sake at the very back of room. Another sigh escaped her lips.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" the patting of hurried footsteps came towards the sake room. A panting Hyuuga girl lent against the frame of the sliding doors dressed in an elegant kimono covered in intricate dragonflies. She caught sight of her target in the at the back of the room, carefully collecting sake bottles and placing them into the tray. "It's the shinobi from mist again. They request your presence right now!" She waited at the doorway and smiled apologetically.

"Hai, Hai. Ugh, they are so irritating. And perverts too. I thought they were supposed to be leaving this morning? Kami-sama, and here I thought I was finally free of them." the pink haired girl emerged from the room and walked back along the corridor, the tray balanced on top of her hand. "What room are they in? they'd better be secluded or they will scare off the other clients!" she huffed, turning to look at her friend.

"I thought you might say that. They're in the room at the end of the corridor." Sakura smiled at the girl in appreciation.

"Thanks Hinata-chan" she chimed, before walking along the corridor towards the private room.

The stench of sake had already reached her nose as she took small, delicate steps towards the room housing the mist nin. She scrunched her nose, before plastering a fake smile on her face, and opened the door.

"Sakura-chaaaaaan!" the cheer of her name filled the room, as eight rosy cheeked shinobi spotted her in the doorway. She sighed again. This was going to be a long night.

O---------------------------------------------O

Hinata sneaked a peek through the door to look at Sakura and the mist nin. Poor Sakura. She was obviously forcing her laughs and smiles. It's a good thing the shinobi were drunk, otherwise they might have noticed. One of the nins brushed his hand up Sakura's thigh. Sakura forced out a laugh through gritted teeth, and gently shoved his hand away, causing him to fall over. Hinata shook her head and sighed in sympathy for the girl. She slid the door shut quietly, and walked back towards the other tea rooms. She would have to return to her clients soon, or they would probably complain. Hopefully, the other Geisha visiting the tea house would take advantage of the lonesome clients. She sat on a vacant chair outside one of the doors, intending to rest for short while. Seconds later, the door slid open, and Tenten shuffled out with leaving guests. Hinata watched her show them to the gate, and wave them a happy goodbye, asking them to come again. She walked up to Hinata and leaned against the opposite wall.

"Honestly, aren't there any other tea houses in Konoha? This place has been so damn crowded recently! I am seriously considering putting on a Yukata, it's so hot in those rooms!" Tenten continued her rant "Can't we get some windows open or something? I mean, it's not like a little breeze would do the guests any harm! In fact, it would do them some good! Their sweat patches are really off putting!" Tenten slid down to a crouching position against the wall.

"Here, have this chair. I have to return to my clients now. Go have some sake, maybe step outside the back too cool down for a bit." Hinata softly suggested, rising from the chair. She walked towards the door of her clients tea room, managing to hear Tenten mumble something about being sick of sake, before letting herself in.

O---------------------------------------------O

Tenten watched the door close behind Hinata before lifting herself up and roughly collapsing on the chair. Honestly, you'd think there would be a limited number of people allowed in the tea house because of safety reasons. She slid her hand across her hair pulling loose strands of hair with it. The wax held the strands to her head, also leaving a sticky residue on Tenten's hand. Great, now she would have to go to the kitchens to wash it. Why wouldn't Tsunade let them wipe it on their kimono's anyway? It's not like they were overly expensive, they were just made of silk, and gold thread, and…..Tenten's logical side eventually won over her laziness, and she trudged towards the kitchen, avoiding clients roaming the tea house. At least she could grab a bite to eat while she was there. Yeah, that makes up for having to walk all the way down the corridor to the kitchen…

O----------------------------------------------O

Ino was having the time of her life doing what she did best. Flirting with her danna. She took pride in the fact that she, amongst the four of her sisters, was the first to sell her mizuage, and to obtain a wealthy danna, a leaf shinobi strategists. She daintily poured him another dish of sake, exposing a tiny bit of her wrist. Her danna blushed, and Ino giggled cutely, showing him a small, secretive smile. She knew that she shouldn't feel these emotions for anyone. As a Geisha, emotions like these were forbidden, but she really couldn't help it. She had fallen for her danna. He was married already. An arranged marriage. And she was his wife of the night. Nothing more. Still, he was gentle and kind to her, and treated her as a wife. Probably how he treats his real wife, she added bitterly. He offered her to pour herself a dish of sake. She gave him a bubbly beam, and poured herself a generous amount. After talking long together with her danna, and listening to the tales of his missions, she offered to take him to the usual private room upstairs.

"Come on Shika-kun, lets go now." she urged him merrily, pulling his arm towards the stairs, catching a glimpse of Sakura bidding goodbye to her clients.

"Troublesome woman."

O---------------------------------------------O

Sakura found herself back in the sake room, downing a bottle of sake. The liquid burned her throat. She had finally gotten rid of the noisy obnoxious mist nins, and tidied up after them. She was now rewarding herself. She would have to make sure not to make it a habit. She might end up like Tsunade. Sakura shivered at the thought. After being sufficiently felt up, she had managed to persuade the nins that they should leave, as they returned home in the morning. Sakura raised her bottle in celebration. Finally free of them. Sakura finished the bottle, and left it in the crate. If she remembered, she might go and clear it at the end of the night.

She scuffled along the corridor, checking each room for deserted customers, before reaching the entrance. Finally, some time to herself. She stroked the bars of the gate fondly. This had been her home for so long now. Ever since she had arrived at the Okiya, she had been looked after, and taught by the best. Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san. The best tutors in the world. She broke into nostalgic smile.

"Excuse me? Do you have a spare room?" Sakura looked up sharply towards the origin of the smooth, bass voice. She couldn't really see his face. He looked like a ninja. He had two other people behind him, neither of whom she could see clearly.

"Of course. Please, this way" she said politely, and bowed. She turned around and tottered towards the room at the end of the corridor. Again. It seemed that she could never escape it. She knelt at the door, and slid it open. After they had entered the room, she asked for their patience, and slid the door shut. She ran back down the corridor, only to run into Tenten, who was carrying a tray full of sake bottles and dishes. She swiped the tray from her hands, and quickly walked back to the occupied room. A 'Hey!' echoed down the corridor.

After entering the room and sliding the tray onto the table, she kneeled, and finally got a look at the shinobi, who appeared to be leaf ninja.

The first had long black hair, with pupiless eyes, and wore black pants and polo necked long sleeved top, underneath white armour plates. He had an ANBU mask hanging by his waist. He had a blank look on his pale face.

The second had bluish black spiky hair, bangs framing his face. He had dark onyx eyes, and a scowl on his face. He wore the same as the first, apart from the mask, which was set beside his knees.

The third was blonde boy. His hair was fashioned in spikes, and he had cerulean blue eyes, and whisker marks on his face. He wore a happy grin as he bugged his friends. He also wore the same gear as the other two.

Sakura guessed that the gear was ANBU gear. While she poured out three dishes of sake, the blonde talked to his silent companions.

"Hey! Hey! Relax a little, guys! There is no way that he will know! Wasn't it a brilliant plan? To follow him? Now we get to see what he does every evening!" the bouncy blonde seemed to be pleased with himself immensely. The long haired male sighed at his antics.

"Dobe. This is pointless. I don't want to know what he does." countered the onyx eyed man, as he reached out to take the sake dish that was offered to him. "And it's called stalking."

"Psh! Whatever teme!" the blonde turned to Sakura who sat in silence, and introduced himself and his companions. "Hey there! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! My friends here, are Uchiha Sasuke", he pointed at the scowling man "and Hyuuga Neji!" he pointed to the other. Hrm….second name, eyes….she would have to talk to Hinata about this. She smiled politely at the blonde nin and introduced herself.

"Konnichiwa. I am Sakura. Would you like more company? I could arrange for more Geisha if you wish." she said timidly. After all, it was important that the client felt in control. The Uchiha and the Hyuuga were about to decline, but the blonde beat them to it.

"Yeah! The more, the merrier!" he exclaimed, oblivious to his companions frustrated sighs.

"Hai. I shall do that right now." Sakura rose from the floor smoothly, and exited the room. It seems that this bunch would be interesting, but the blondes excessive talking would most definitely drive her insane. What better way to prevent that than to push the responsibility onto someone else? She mentally cackled. Which was why she suggested company. Sakura went in search of one of her sisters. She found Hinata sitting with a group of men, whose attentions were caught by the other Geisha in the group. Poor Hinata. She was never one for much conversation. Sakura decided to save her friend from the group of drunk men and the Geisha. She caught Hinata's attention, and motioned her to come out of the tea room. Hinata smiled gratefully and excused herself.

"What do you need Sakura-chan?" she asked in a whisper. She slid the door shut, and followed Sakura, who was already walking.

"I need some help with my clients. There is a loud blonde who likes talking, and you are a good listener. He's your perfect client!" Sakura grinned at her handy work. Hinata wouldn't have to talk at all. If she tried, she wouldn't get a word in anyway! Hinata blushed at the comment, well aware of her next to non existent confidence. She would see how this went. If Sakura was right, then all she had to do was pour him sake every time he finished a dish. It sounded alright.

O--------------------------------------------O

Hinata was content. No, that was an understatement. She was ecstatic. She was having the time of her life. Flying on cloud nine. This man had to the best client she had ever had. She had not spoken once for three hours straight. Three. Hours. All she had done was pour him sake every once in a while, and listen to him ramble on about ramen and his life ambitions (I'm gonna be the Hokage! Believe it!). Really, she liked him.

She had been concentrating on his breathe intake for the last twenty minutes, and she decided that he didn't need to breathe. She had not seen him take a breath at all. And the good thing was, he didn't even notice her scrunching her eyes in concentration, staring at his lips. Which where thin. They just happened to look kissable too. What do you know. That aside, she was a very happy Hinata. Hmm, that sounded catchy. Happy Hinata. Hinata chuckled at the thought.

Naruto, thinking she was laughing at his (supposedly) funny story, grinned and decided to tell her that other story he had told Sasuke-teme and Neji-baka. The one that they didn't find funny. The simple minded boy continued with his (not) funny story. Hinata smiled at the simplicity of the man. If every client was like this, then she would gladly do this for the rest of her life. It's not that she disliked the job, it's just that the geisha is always expected to supply conversation starters. And shy old Hinata, was not talkative. Which is usually why she made sure to sit with other geisha, so that she was only asked the occasional question. So having a client that didn't let her have a word in edgeways, was a change. A nice change. And to add the cherry on top, he was absolutely gorgeous. His child like impish grin charmed her, and his eyes were a vivid blue. Enough said. If she dwelled on the thought, she might just faint. And last time that happened in company, a drunken client had tried to take advantage of her. Luckily enough for her now, none of the inhabitants were drunk. Uzumaki-san was the worst, and he was only slightly tipsy. Mind you, if he shut up for a minute, he might just remember to take a swig of his fiery beverage.

She stole a glance at the other occupants of the room. Sakura seemed to be in a light debate with Hyuuga-san, speaking of whom, he had probably noticed their resemblance and would soon inquire about it. She mentally sighed. She would deal with that later. She turned her attention back to the man, who was talking animatedly in front of her. Ah, her dream client.

O-------------------------------------------O

"Oh! Takumi-san! Please restrain yourself!" Tenten squealed playfully and brushed his hand away. Inside her head of course, was a different response _YOU BASTARD GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY ARSE!!!!!_. The said man looked at her through half lidded eyes, and flashed her a goofy grin.

"But Tenten-saaaaan! Just a little feel won't hurt! I haven't gotten any in months!" the man whined, reaching towards the nearest breast. Tenten opened her fan sharply in front of the offending hand.

"Takumi-san, I'm afraid I can't supply you with that satisfaction. Why, I am an artist by profession!" Tenten countered, a false blush plastered on her face _I'M A GEISHA DAMMIT! NOT A PROSTITUTE!!!!_. The man retreated his hand with a pout on his face. He looked around the room until he caught the eye of a geisha standing by the door vacantly. He motioned for her to come over to him, and she obeyed silently. She knelt by his side, and started to converse with the man, letting him rest his hand at the very top of her thigh. _Slut_. _What kind of geisha lets someone touch her, in public no less!_ She flashed Tenten a small smirk of triumph, before turning her interests back to the drunken man. _Hoe. Stupid bitch. How dare she steal my client! _Tenten silently fumed. After being sufficiently ignored for seven minutes and thirty-four seconds (yes, she did count), Tenten silently left the man and the _skank_ geisha, exiting through the door, also taking her small dish of sake, which she downed outside in the hallway. Humph. Teach her. Now she can't have any sake. Tenten nodded her head in justice, before taking the empty dish to the kitchen.

Now. To find some abandoned, un-entertained, horny, drunken men. She peeked through all of the doors, until she finally located some passed out sand nins in the corner of a room, being totally ignored. Now Tenten could wake them up and face a couple more hours being felt up, or she could leave them. Hmm. Tenten shut the door and walked to the next. Someone would find them. Eventually.

O-------------------------------------------O

Gawd, I'm so happy that this chapter is finally DONE

Please be kind and leave a review, constructive criticism accepted, but if you bite me with flames, I bite back. Of course, if you want to praise me, then you are welcome to! :D

I shall try to be quicker with the next chapter, although don't be to hopeful.

izi xxx


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